


The Fault in our Spawnpoints

by Kia619



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lost Love, Love, Moving On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kia619/pseuds/Kia619
Summary: Agent 4 (Jay Narakai) is about to reach her first ever X rank! Marie is in the audience to cheer her on as she makes the push. No one expects how things end. - This story is an alternate timeline for Angstgent 24, none of the events which transpire in this story are canon, however the characters are the same.
Relationships: Agent 3/Agent 8 (Splatoon), Agent 4/Marie (Splatoon)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 44





	1. Four hits X

“This is it.” Four said to herself, equipping her gear and entering the battle lobby with her teammates. “Today’s the day I get my first X rank!”

The battle lobby was simple but it had more than enough to keep a team comfortable while they waited to register for their battle. It was a rectangular room, wider than it is long if you go by the shape of it from the doorway. On the right hand side of the room is a couch which points towards a TV which can be used to either watch active battles, check stats of opponents, or just catch up on some shows. There was a small kitchenette in the middle between the left and right hand sides of the room, it wasn’t stocked with much but a lot of players brought their own lunches so having a hotplate, a toaster oven, and a microwave were very helpful. There’s also a mini fridge stocked with water courtesy of some company trying to get good publicity. Between the couch and the kitchen was a door that lead to a small bathroom, which even contained a couple showers. Finally the left hand side of the room was a small target range behind a glass wall and door. It wasn’t very large but it was big enough for one person to practice in. It had a TV inside but it mainly just displayed the stats of the person using the room, though Four did once somehow make it show an active battle of X rankers so she could see how they moved as she practiced.

Four gave her teammates a wave as she entered the lobby, they were on the couch watching previous battles to see what they were doing right and what they could improve on. Four had already done this at home so she instead opts to go into the kitchen and snag a bottle of water out of the fridge. She stands in the kitchen and drinks the bottle slowly, glancing to the screen every now and then to see if there was anything worth paying attention to on it, but mainly thinking to herself how everything she wanted from today could happen with just this one coming battle.

Four had been grinding hard between her ranked modes, she had pushed to S+7 in Clam Blitz, S+5 in Rainmaker, S+8 in Splat Zones, and finally, S+9 in Tower Control. She could feel it in her ink, today was going to be a big day for her. She was one win away from ranking up from in Tower Control, and that happened to be the mode that was in rotation today. She only had one crack in her rank meter as well, so she felt confident she could get it done. 

Four told herself she needed to keep a level head, but she was also stressed about what was to come. She knew all too well the possibility of hitting a bad string of luck and losing her progress. She wouldn’t rank down because she was well past the OK line, but there was still the lingering fear of not being able to get the job done. Four looks at herself in the lobby mirror, trying to hype herself up for this without inducing too much stress. She’s made it this far, surely she can make it to just one more win and head up into X.

Four’s teammates all looked at her as she was hyping herself for the battle, snickering amongst themselves as they watch her try and not freak out and fail miserably at it. Four knew that Marie was going to be in the audience because that’s what a supportive girlfriend does. Marie was unfortunately often too busy to catch Four’s battles, but today was special. Four was too close to ranking into her first ever X rank for Marie to excuse not being present. Either she’d be there to congratulate Four on making it to X, or to console her if things don’t go her way. Still, Four was confident she’d be getting that congratulatory kiss on the cheek from Marie. Marie would give her a kiss on the cheek win or lose but it felt more like she deserved it if she won.

Four was so focused on trying to not panic that she didn’t even notice one of her teammates stand up from the couch and make their way over to her. They approached slowly, and actually grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge themselves, taking a quick swig before turning to Four.

“Yo Jay, you good there?” One of her teammates, Jesse, said to her, waving their hand in front of her face which snapped her out of her hyperfocus.   
  
“Oh yeah sorry, I’m just excited because I’m only one win away from my first X rank.” Four smiles, and then blushes hard. “And… also my girlfriend is in the audience today too.”

“Hey congrats! We’ll do our best not to fuck that up for ya, besides we all want to hit X rank too.” Jesse chuckles, implying that they weren’t going to leave her out to dry because that would put all of them at a disadvantage. “You’ve got this, I’ve seen you battle a ton, you’ll do great!”

Four nods and thanks Jesse for the moral support. Jesse was one of Four’s oldest friends in Inkopolis, aside from Three of course, and they always knew how to hype Four up without making her too nervous. Four lets herself think about how she got to this point for a moment, all the battles, the close calls with three cracks in her rank meter, how Marie was so supportive through every single step leading to this point. Four smiles as she thinks about how excited Marie got when she told her she was likely going to hit her first X rank today. Marie insisted that she be in the audience for it, she cancelled so many things just to be here. Marie assured her that even if she shattered her rank meter and lost her progress, she still wanted to be there to support her. Four was entirely too lucky to have Marie as a partner and she knew it, but she wasn’t about to complain about it.

Four’s teammates were also hyping themselves at this point, one of them had three cracks in their rank meter and needed this win to stay alive, Jesse was one win away from the OK line, and the last one had just made it to S+9 the last time Tower Control was in the rotation, so this game mattered a lot to every single one of them. Four was confident this combination would lead them to victory, she could feel it, today was going to be huge.

Finally after waiting a while, there was only five minutes to the match, time to go sync up with the respawn pad. The process was simple and quick, but it did need a minute to ensure the synchronization happens properly. The spawn point would change your ink colour and then it would make sure the colour change holds. Four takes in a deep breath, holds it for a second, then lets it out.   
  
“Alright guys, let’s go. If I dwell on my thoughts too much I’m gonna freak out.” Four smiles awkwardly at her team but they all roll their eyes and follow her to the respawn pad. Each one making sure they’ve got their gear set and their weapons clipped to their belts ready to be registered when they arrive in the arena for the battle.

Four registers her gear and her weapon for the battle, then walks up to the respawn pad and syncs up with it, changing her ink color to match the setting for the match. Purple was a good color on her so she was happy that was the color her team would be for the match. By the time her entire team is registered and ready for the battle, it’s one minute to game time. Her teammates give her a pat on the back and a smile, they’re rooting for her to get the X rank and she’s grateful. Four stretches her arms one final time, making sure she’s limbered up enough for the battle, which was no doubt going to be a tooth and nail fight to the bitter end.

Four waves to Marie in the stands as she gets ready to battle, Marie blushes and waves back as Callie sits down next to her with popcorn and drinks on a tray. Marie takes her drink and popcorn and smiles widely, not even waiting for the match to start before shovelling a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Four just rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the battle at hand. 

Four looks to Judd who would announce when the battle started and ended, as well as announce the winning team at the end. Four swallowed nervously as the countdown started on the screen. Her brow furrowed and she readied her weapon, growling slightly to get into the mindset of an animal on the hunt, this was it, go time, it’s now or never.   
  
Five.

Four.

Three.   
  
Two.

One.

**_BATTLE!_ **

Four, in a fit of enthusiasm, immediately booyah’s upon the match starting, and her teammates all booyah back as they ink the ground in front of them and make a push towards the tower. Four’s using her clash blaster neo; her teammates have a Kensa Dynamo roller, a Kensa Splattershot Pro, and an NZAP ‘89. A good team composition she thinks. Their roller pushes forwards first, dodging fire from an enemy Kensa Splattershot with a quick sideways flank, and with a swing of the roller they take out two of the enemy team that had been pushing to the tower. Four swims through the ink path the roller made. Four notices ink splashes on the side of the tower indicating to her that an enemy was climbing it. Four swims towards the tower, emerging quickly to fire her blaster at the opponent, connecting two quick shots and sending them back to spawn. Four was about to claim the tower but she hears a splat behind her and turns quickly, ready to fight but instead sees that her teammate with the NZAP had just saved her from getting splatted from behind by an enemy.   
  
“Thanks, I owe you one.” Four comments, returning to her mission and shooting the side of the tower to allow her to swim on to it, claiming it for her team. Four raises her weapon, aiming towards where the enemy team will most likely come from to defend it as they make their way to checkpoint one.   
  
“Don’t mention it, we can do this if we work together!” They reply as the go about inking the turf around the tower as it makes its way to the first checkpoint. The one enemy team member left had retreated to regroup with their team as they respawn, an admirable strategy, but it left Four and her team to freely make it to the first checkpoint uncontested.

Four, realizing that they’re not going to be rushed immediately dives into the ink on top of the tower, scouring her position from any potential onlookers. Her teammates in various positions on the map, covering the tower as it reaches the first checkpoint. She could hear the enemy closing in and her teammates readied themselves. Then Four heard the unmistakable sound of TentaMissiles locking onto her.   
  
“Shit.” Four says, staying on the tower until the last possible second to gain as much progress as she can, leaping off just in time to avoid being splatted by the missiles. She lands on the ground, which was covered in her teams ink, allowing her to move freely. Just as she had expected, the enemy reclaimed the tower at this moment and started pushing her team back.    
  
Four and her team retreat and regroup, it’s still early so there’s plenty of time to reclaim the tower and win. They need to reclaim the tower without losing anyone, as if by some act of providence, Their roller and their Splattershot Pro both have their specials charged, their hair seemingly on fire. Four grins, it’s time to flush out the tower. Four turns to her teammates with their specials charged, and starts running a game plan by them.   
  
“Okay, one of you aim at the tower and the other at the support on the ground, I’m going in to reclaim the tower, cover me as soon as you can.” Four’s teammates nod as she dives into the ink. The roller aims at the tower while the splattershot pro aims at the surrounding teammates, within seconds the two booyah bombs are charged and thrown in sync, flushing the tower and pushing the enemy away from it. The inkling on the tower jumps off to avoid the one which hit it, only to get caught in the one thrown at her support, exploding into ink and returning to spawn.

Four throws out a curling bomb to keep the enemy away from the tower as she climbs it and reclaims it. Her teammates closing in behind her ready to support her. She knows they didn’t take out the entire team so she readies herself for a tower climber, her suspicions are confirmed when an Octoling emerges on top of the tower wielding an… Aerospray? Really? Oh well. Four fires her weapon, using the pillar in the middle of the tower as a shield, and the aerospray goes out in a flash of ink. Four holds her weapon steady as she hears another tower climber, shortly after she sees a roller emerge and come down towards her, She fires off a shot, connecting immediately, but it’s too late, she feels the roller crashing into her body and the accompanying pain of being splatted, the enemy roller quickly being dispatched by the Dynamo roller on Four’s team seconds later.

Marie holds her breath, she knows Four will be okay but seeing her get splatted always made her nervous. The missions in Octo Canyon where Four only had so many respawns still haunted her dreams. Callie notices this and assures her Cousin that Four will be fine, just a few more seconds and she’ll respawn. Marie relaxes and nods, Callie is right. Callie and Marie turn their attention to the respawn pad, eager to see how Four will bounce back from being splatted, she always seemed to have some fire in her that lead to impressive feats after being splatted. However Four doesn’t respawn. The respawn pad steams, but for far longer than it should. The steam becomes more intense, then the pad sparks, the electrical wiring flashing. Everything stops for a second, the pad no longer emitting steam or sparks, but just as quickly as the chaos stopped, it returns as the entire pad explodes in a fireball, sending shrapnel flying and causing the lights in the arena to flicker.

Marie’s eyes go wide as she watches the event transpire, the respawn pad is gone, with no Four in sight. The match is quickly halted, but it’s too late, the damage has been done, and Four never respawned. Marie’s drink and popcorn land on the ground as she stands, shock and horror painted across her face.   
  
“No… NO!” Marie super jumps into the arena, something that was usually not allowed but in this case Judd would let it slide, this was not a usual circumstance. Marie lands and runs towards the respawn pad, tears streaming from her eyes, her words screaming from the back of her throat and her broken hearts. “ **_FOUR!_ ** ”

  
Marie reaches the remains of the respawn pad, charred and shattered with no sign of her love anywhere. She falls to her knees, her eyes wide in disbelief as the tears roll down her face. Four’s teammates come up behind her quickly and realize what happened, and collectively gasp in disbelief. The enemy that splatted her drops their roller, they never meant for this to happen. Their teammates assure them that it wasn’t their fault and they had no way of knowing this would happen, but they can’t help but feel responsible. They feel dirty.   
  
“F-Four… N-no…” Marie sobs, burying her face in her hands as she cries, her lover was gone and she had just watched her die. Marie sobs uncontrollably, there was no consoling her in this moment, she had lost a piece of herself and she needed time to heal. But right now? She needed to be allowed to grieve the love she had just lost. Callie kneels down next to her and pulls her into a hug, crying with her. Callie was never as close to Four as Marie was, but she was still her friend, and losing her hurt all the same. The two idols just hold each other as their sobs stain the others clothes with tears. 


	2. Honouring the fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three returns home from a long day of covering agent duties for Callie, Marie, and Four, and comes to find some unpleasant news awaits her.

Three had just sat down with Eight after a long day, Marie had her and Eight on patrol all day because she wanted to catch Four’s ranked matches. Three understood, Four was about to hit X rank and she thought it only made sense that her partner be able to watch her achieve it. Three and Eight wrapped up together under a blanket and got comfortable, Three switching on the TV. Naturally it was on the News channel, and Three left it on because they usually announced the newest X rankers and she wanted to see if Four was on the list. But the list never showed. Instead something else came across the screen.

“A tragic accident today during a ranked match has left Inkopolis in a state of confusion. During the match after an inkling was splatted, rather than respawning, the respawn pad itself sparked and eventually exploded. The inkling in question never respawned. Friends and loved ones have come all the way from their hometown of Blowfish County to pay their respects. A memorial has been constructed in the centre of the stage, and it has been officially decommissioned and removed from rotation. The fallen Inkling was one win away from ranking into X, and so Judd has awarded her an honorary X rank in her honour. As all battles have been halted for the rest of the week, she is the only new X ranker we have to announce. So please join us as we honour  _ Jay Narakai _ , our thoughts are with her loved ones on this solemn day.”   
  
Three switches off the TV, her eyes wide in horror as the tears well in her eyes. This had to be a trick, there’s no way it was real. Eight knew Three was struggling so she held her tightly. Three grabbed out her phone and went to the news site, hoping to find that someone had been pulling an elaborate prank on her. Instead she finds a video of her childhood friend and cousin being splatted, and her respawn pad exploding instead of bringing her back.

“No… Please no…” Tears roll down Three’s face as she watches the video, she can’t believe it, but there it is. She buries her face into Eight’s shoulder and lets herself cry, Eight holding her head and stroking it lightly as Three sobs uncontrollably. Eight was never very close with Four, but she knew how much she meant to her lover, and losing her like this was not fair to her at all. Eight holds Three’s head tightly and cries with her as they mourn Three’s fallen cousin.

The next day, Three and Eight make their way to the stage where it happened. Three looks at the destroyed respawn pad and sighs, there’s no repairing it. Either it would have to be completely replaced, or never used again. She walks hand in hand with Eight to the center of the stage where the memorial for Four was placed, her picture along with her birth and death years were set up in a floral frame. The flowers were fake so they’d never wilt. Three sets down a bouquet of pink lilies, Four’s favorite flower, just below her picture. She chokes back another sob as she again realizes she’s never going to see her cousin again. 

Eight pulls her hand out of Three’s to wrap her arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer as she does. Three rests her head into Eight as she tries to calm herself. There was a proper funeral planned for a week from today, and Three hoped she’d be able to make peace with this loss by then. Three wanted to be strong for her friends, she knew how hard Marie would take it, they’d been together a little over six months at this point. To lose love the way Marie did was cruel, Three couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if Eight was taken from her the same way.

“Hey, we should get going, there’s a lot going on in your head. I think you need some rest.” Eight comments, brushing a tentacle out of Three’s face.

“I… Yeah, you’re right.” Three sighs, glancing back at the memorial picture of her cousin for a moment before returning her attention back to Eight. “Let’s get going.”   
  
Eight nods, kissing Three on the cheek, and once again entwining her fingers into Three’s own. The pair head away from the stage and return to Inkopolis. They’d have to find some way to cope with these events. Three doesn’t think she’ll be able to participate in another turf wars or ranked match after this, the thought of potentially leaving Eight the way Four left Marie made her feel sick. She’d have to remember to give Marie a hug when she sees her next.

\--

A week goes by, there were no battles open, no stages in rotation, and not a single person in Inkopolis was upset by it. Pearl and Marina would still do the news but it was mostly just weather and traffic updates now, as there weren’t any stages to announce. The mechanics for the respawn pads spent the entire week going to each respawn pad in each stage and clearing them for use. They wouldn’t be done until the day after Four’s funeral, and none of the stages would be cleared for use until every stage was confirmed safe. 

The funeral takes place in the stage which Four died in. They honour her memory by holding her funeral in the one place she spent most of her free time, on the battlefield. Three’s parents are there and they are heartbroken, they had raised Four as their own and couldn’t believe she was gone. Callie is there in a black dress that goes down to about two inches above her ankles, it’s got a belt around the waist and straps going over the shoulders. Marie is sitting near the stand that was set up, she was one of the people who would be speaking on Four’s memory. Marie’s dress was also black, but only went down to her knees, and didn’t have straps on it. Three recognized that dress as the one she had worn on her first date with Four. She only knows this because Four blew up her phone with pictures of her and Marie together during said date.

Three was in a black suit with a black tie, if it weren’t for the occasion Eight would say that Three looked astounding. Eight herself was in her own dress, it was more flowey and went down to her shins, there were straps that went onto her arms and a belt with a brass buckle around her waist. 

Three gives Eight a quick kiss as they separate, Three heading up to the stand to take her seat next to Marie, and Eight in the front row of the chairs that have been set up to sit next to Callie. As Three approaches the stand, Marie spots her coming and stands. Marie doesn’t even get the chance to say anything before Three immediately pulls her into a hug. Marie quickly returns the gesture, they both knew how much Four meant to the other, and that in this moment they needed as much strength as they could to get through this.

The service starts and everyone takes their seats. Cap’n is the first to speak, he talks briefly about Four’s accomplishments in life, and about how enthusiastic and outgoing she was. He didn’t know her for very long, but he was very grateful to have met her. He wishes her friends and family the best, and takes his seat. Now it’s Marie’s turn to speak.

Marie takes a deep breath and walks up to the stand, Three can see she’s practically shaking. But Marie stays strong, she reaches the stand and places her hands on either side of it to steady herself.

“Jay and I had been dating for nearly seven months when it happened. I was in the stands to cheer her on as she fought for her first X rank. She so desperately wanted to prove she was good enough. I always told her that she was more than good enough, that she didn’t have to stress herself out, but she was stubborn and determined. She had come so far since we started dating. She had just barely made it into S+1 at the time. She never gave up, and that was something I admired about her.” Marie smiles, and wipes a stray tear out of her eye. 

“Jay was the kind of person who could never truly give up. She took breaks when it became overwhelming, and I was always willing to help her work through it, but she never gave up. She was the most amazing Inkling I think I’ve ever met. She cared so much about everyone she knew. Her family, her friends, anyone. She was just that special kind of person who comes into your life and makes everything better… It’s going to be hard going through the rest of mine without her. I love you Jay, may your spirit rest in peace.” Marie steps away from the stand and takes her seat again, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

Three takes a moment to hug Marie again, holding her head and telling her it’ll be okay. She misses her too and hopes they can help each other heal.Three can’t hold Marie for long however as it is now her turn to speak on behalf of her cousin. Three releases Marie from the hug, she gives her a quick smile, and then Three stands and heads to the mic, placing her own hands on either side of the stand as she can already feel the tears welling in her eyes.

“Jay and I were extremely close growing up. Her and I were more like siblings than cousins. She always told me she was going to grow up to be the best battler in Inkopolis, and I always told her that if she worked hard at it, she could be. Her and I would spend hours pretending we were in battles, pretending it was some big event and we were on a team that was on the verge of some great comeback victory. We didn’t have very much growing up, we couldn’t afford a TV so her and I opted to entertain ourselves with our fake battles.” Three smiles warmly at the memory of how her and Four used to always play together, and how Four would always insist that her and Three should be on the same team.

“Her and I didn’t even know about the Squid Sisters until much later. I found out about them through some friends at school, even managed to score tickets to one of their concerts in a draw. I’d have taken Jay with me but she unfortunately was sick at the time and couldn’t come. Jay never really did find out who the Squid Sisters were until actually moving to Inkopolis and meeting Marie. Jay was never shy about coming to me when something was troubling her; and when she was struggling to find the right words to ask Marie out with, I told her to, and I am quoting myself here, ‘Tell her you’re beautiful and then ask if she wants to go on a date’” Three chuckles at the memory. “I come to find out later from Callie that what Four had said to her was “I’m beautiful, want to go on a date?””

Everyone in attendance lets out an audible chuckle at this revelation, even Marie can’t help herself from letting out a few laughs, even if the moments after were just as painful as before. Marie remembers that moment so well in her mind. Four was so nervous and Marie had to apologize so many times for laughing.

“Fortunately for her, it worked, and the rest is history.” Three continues, ready to cap off the story. “Marie and Jay were perfect together, and it made me so happy to see my cousin find happiness. I think I speak for all of us when I say… I’m really going to miss her.”   
  
Three sighs, Callie could barely contain her laughter when she was sharing that story and Three remembers how happy Four was when Marie said yes. She takes in a deep breath as she realizes how much she’s going to miss Four, and how it’s going to take her a lot longer than she thought to heal. Three turns her attention back to the matter at hand for the time being, she needs to close her remarks.

“All in all, Jay was a good cousin, a good friend, and a good partner. Everyone who got to know her loved her in some way. I’m really going to miss her, and I hope she’s found peace in the next life.” Three steps away from the stand and takes her seat next to Marie, this time Marie pulls Three into the hug as they both sob. Four was gone and there was nothing they could do but mourn. Neither of them saw who took the stand next, and neither of them cared, they needed to be there for each other.

The funeral closes shortly after, Eight once again holding Three’s hand as they stand around the picture of Four with hundreds of flowers surrounding it. This was not going to be an easy transition, but Three hoped that with the help of her friends, and Eight, that she’d eventually be okay. She just desperately wishes she had been given the chance to properly say goodbye to her cousin. Still, this moment had made Three start to think. She was realizing that at any moment, one of them could be gone. Three starts planning in her mind how she wants things to go, and starts realizing the preparations she’s going to need to make. Three sighs and squeezes Eight’s hand, the pair turning away from Four’s memorial and heading home as the sun sets over the horizon.


	3. The days ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been almost a year since the events of Chapter One, and everyone is still finding it difficult to move on.

It’s been eleven months since Jays passing, life in Inkopolis has all but returned to normal. There’s still battles every day, and there’s still people who grind hard to reach X rank. But Three hasn’t set foot in the battle lobby since before the event took place. Eight told Three that it would be fine, they’ve cleared the respawn pads for use and have ensured that they’re safe. But Three couldn’t bring herself to trust them. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her friends, or her lover behind.

Three and Eight had now been together for almost two years, just five more days and their anniversary would be upon them. Three had an idea on how to make it extra special. She felt she needed to, for her own sake as well as Eight’s; to keep their minds off the looming anniversary of the loss of Four. Three and Eight walked hand in hand through Inkopolis park, the sun high in the sky as little Inklings, Octolings, and even some “Inktolings” were playing in the field nearby as they walked down the path.

Three had insisted they take this walk today, and while Eight would never turn down the chance to spend time with Three like this, but she could tell something was bothering the Inkling. Eight didn’t want to pressure her though, especially with the anniversary of Four’s death just around the corner. But Eight was still concerned about the girl she loved, and given a quiet moment, she might ask if anything’s wrong. Still, Eight loved the feeling of the sun on her skin. Even after years of being on the surface, she still finds the warmth and beauty of the sun to be unmatched. Well, unless you’re counting Three, but Three is so much more beautiful and warm that it would be unfair to compare the two.

Three and Eight walked towards the lake, there was a clearing between the tree cover that made a perfect spot to see the lake, no doubt it would look absolutely stunning when the sun sets and reflects off the water. Eight always did love the way the sunset shifted the colours of the world. Three however, seemed to be examining the area, studying it like one might study for a test. Eight looked at Three in confusion, Three was never this enthralled with her surroundings. 

“Three? Is everything alright?” Eight asks, squeezing her hand to get her attention.

“Hmm? Oh right sorry. I was just thinking about… things.” Three says through a blush, realizing she was caught zoned out. Her thoughts were on their coming anniversary and what she planned to do to make it special.

“Oh? What kind of… things?” Eight asks, tilting her head to the side.

“Just… things.” Three says, turning her head back towards the horizon. She smiles as she thinks about her coming plans and how perfect they seem. She’s going to make sure her and Eight have the best anniversary ever.

“C’mon, we promised Marie we’d be at her place in a few minutes, if we spend too much time here she’s going to yell at us for being late again.” Three chuckles and squeezes Eight’s hand, the pair walking off towards Callie and Marie’s apartment.

Marie was having a less than stellar day. Eight and Three were coming over and she had planned to have some grand meal with them to celebrate their two years, but she just couldn’t get the recipe right! She was going to be on tour with Callie on the actual day so she wanted to do something special for them before she left and it was all falling apart!

“No no NO!” Marie cries, looking at the burnt pile of… ‘food’ on the pan in front of her. “Why me? Why now?”   
  
Marie’s anguished cries of distress did not go unnoticed by her cousin, whom happened to be sitting on the couch watching TV at the time. Callie rolled her eyes initially, Marie was too much of a perfectionist for her own good. But then they kept happening, over and over again. It got to the point where Marie was nearly breaking down and crying over food. Callie couldn’t take it any longer and just stood up and walked over into the kitchen.   
  
“Marie what’s wrong? You sound like a dying walrus.” Callie comments as she leans against the frame dividing the kitchen from the living room. “Seriously if you’re having so much trouble just order a pizza or something.”   
  
Marie looks up at Callie enraged, there’s fire in her eyes and Callie realizes that maybe she should’ve waited until Marie  _ didn’t _ have a knife in her hand to make that comment. Callie raises her hands so they’re between her and Marie, not wanting to take any chances with a Marie that’s on the warpath.

“Callie, how could you even SUGGEST that?! It’s Three and Eight’s  **_ANNIVERSARY!_ ** It has to be perfect!” Marie points the knife right at Callie. “Don’t you dare suggest that they deserve anything less than the best!”   
  
“Okay okay! I’m sorry! You’re just freaking out and I thought maybe you should relax a bit; Three and Eight would probably rather just spend time with us before we go on tour than sit through some elaborate dinner plan.” Callie says, keeping her hands raised until Marie slowly realizes that she’s pointing a knife at her cousin and quickly lowers it.

“S-Sorry Cal, I’m just stressed.” Marie sets the knife down on the counter and sighs before walking over to her cousin, and pulling her into a hug. “Between the tour coming up and… Four’s anniversary being next month, I guess I’m just stressed about everything.”   
  
Callie quickly hugs her cousin back, holding her tightly.   
  
“Hey, it’s okay Mar, you have a right to be upset about what happened, and what’s going on. But you need to stop beating yourself up about it. It isn’t your fault.” Callie could feel Marie shivering, she’d been acting so strong for so long, she needed to just let it out and let herself relax.

“I just… I miss her so much Cal; I know I shouldn’t be this broken about it because Three seems to be handling it fine and it was her cousin!” Marie chokes out through her sobs, gripping tightly to Callie’s shirt. “But she made me so happy! I loved her!”   
  
Callie just holds Marie, gently running her hand up and down Marie’s back as she does to try and console her. She knows how much Marie has been going through, she could tell that she was stressed, and emotional, and that she needed to just take some time and recoup her thoughts and let herself be in the moment again.

After a few minutes, Marie finally seems like she’s calming down, her body has stopped shaking and the sound of sobs has stopped as well. Marie pulls out of the hug and smiles at her cousin.   
  
“Th-thank you Cal… I needed that.” Marie wipes a few stray tears from her eyes.

“I know you did, you’ve been so worked up lately... Three and Eight will be here soon, let’s just order a couple pizzas and hang out with them rather than trying to make some elaborate event out of this.” Callie smiles to Marie, who glances towards the charred remains of her attempt at food.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I swear to the powers that be if there isn’t at least ONE pizza without pineapple on it, I WILL throw you out of the window.” Marie glares at Callie, who tries to feign shock but instead just bursts out laughing, causing Marie to lose her cool and start laughing too.

“Okay okay, I PROMISE I will order at least one pizza without pineapple on it.” Callie sticks her tongue out at Marie who just rolls her eyes.

“You better! I’m gonna go change out of this shirt, it’s sweaty and it smells like burning.” Marie chuckles to herself and heads into her room to get changed.

Callie goes back over to the couch and grabs her phone off the coffee table, dialing the pizza place and making the order, making sure that at least one of them doesn’t have pineapple on it. If Marie could respect that Callie liked it, Callie could respect that Marie doesn’t. Callie finishes setting up the order and then their door buzzer chimes.   
  
“Oh, that must be Three and Eight!” Callie says as she stands from the couch, straightens her shirt, and makes her way over to the buzzer and hits the button to speak. “Hellooooo?”   
  
“City morgue, you stab ‘em we slab ‘em” Comes the reply from the buzzer, causing Callie to just roll her eyes.    
  
“Three you dumbass squid get your ass in here; Eight too because I am assuming she’s with you.” Callie says back into the buzzer and hits the button to allow them entry to the building. Callie waits by the door for the inevitable knock and when it comes she swings the door open to reveal Three and Eight standing hand in hand.

“Hey Cal!” Three smiles, happy to see her friend again as she enters the apartment. “What’s that burning smell?”

Callie rolls her eyes and welcomes them inside, closing the door and locking it again once they’re inside.

“Marie was trying to make some extravagant meal, it went about as well as expected.” Callie laughs, gesturing towards the couch as she invites them to sit. “I ordered some pizzas so you won’t starve though.”   
  
Eight and Three chuckle at Marie’s difficulties with making food before graciously accepting the offer to sit. Three sits right in the corner of the couch, and Eight sits right next to her, still holding Three’s hand.

Marie exits her room shortly after wearing a casual pair of jeans with a basic tee shirt. She walks back into the kitchen and properly disposes of the charred mess that was once dinner, throwing it all into their garbage bin, and placing the pan in the dishwasher.

“Alright alright, I guess I’m not the master chef I thought I was.” Marie laughs as she enters the living room and takes her seat on her recliner. “So Three, Eight… any big plans for your anniversary?”

Three blushes deeply and tries to hide her face. Marie notices this and flashes her a smirk which only serves to worsen the poor Inkling’s state. Eight only blushes lightly and smiles, completely oblivious to her lovers state.

“Well, Three insisted on making it a big deal.” Eight chuckles and smiles, squeezing Three’s hand as she does. “We’re going to see a movie in the afternoon, and after that she insisted we go to dinner at the same place we went on our first date.”

Marie chuckles and brings her hand to cover her smirk, she’s got a feeling she knows what Three is planning. Marie flashes Three an eyebrow wiggle and Three hides deeper into her shirt. Marie can read her entirely too well and she hates it. Not that it hasn’t come in handy before when she couldn’t articulate how she felt, but right now it was a weapon she was using to brutally embarrass Three.

“Oh my gods that’s so CUTE!” Callie squees, smiling wide and holding her fists on her cheeks. “Who would’ve thought that Agent Three, the stoic hardass, was really a hopeless romantic!”

Three finally comes out of her shirt and just rolls her eyes at both of them, they may be impossible to deal with sometimes but she still loved them. They were her friends after all, they’d helped her out of her fair share of tight spots both in a physical sense and an emotional sense. Three just scoots closer to Eight and puts her arm around her back, making Eight silently smile and lean closer to her.

“I am capable of having emotions you know, Eight wouldn’t still be with me if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m capable of feeling love towards her.” Three says as she sticks out her tongue at both Callie and Marie.

“Aww, you love me?” Eight teases, earning her own eyeroll from the enamored Inkling.

“Yes, and I’m gonna make sure you never forget it.” Three smiles as she kisses Eight on the cheek, causing the Octoling to giggle and blush before returning the gesture.

“Wow gay.” Marie comments, chuckling to herself lightly before pausing. Marie then looks to the floor and her expression changes from her usual teasing demeanour to one of mild sadness.

This change does not go unnoticed by Three, who can assume the reason for why Marie suddenly feels the way she does. Three and Eight had just shown physical affection towards each other, and that’s something Marie hasn’t had in almost a year. Something Marie hasn’t had since before they lost Four.

“Marie…” Three starts, but Marie quickly waves her off, wanting to dismiss the thought quickly.

“I’m fine, honestly. Just… I guess I still miss her, like a lot.” Marie says, flashing a sad smile towards Three.

“That’s okay… I miss her too. Not a day goes by that I don’t. You have every right to feel the way you do Marie.” Three smiles back, doing her best to comfort her friend as Marie had done many times in the past for her. 

Marie nods, still looking to the floor. She remembers how Four’s hand seemed to fit so perfectly in her own, and how adorable her laugh was. She remembers the little things Four had done to show her affection, from the flowers left in her dressing room to meals prepared with loving notes attached. Marie had always done her best to repay the love that Four had given her, but she always felt like she came up short. She was just too busy to properly show how much Four meant to her. It would be nearly two years since her and Four started dating soon, Marie wondered if Four would’ve been shopping for a ring by now… or if she herself would be the one doing the ring shopping. She wishes she knew, she wishes she could feel Four’s arms wrapped around her again.

Before the conversation can continue too far however, the buzzer chimes, signaling the pizza has arrived. Callie stands and heads over to the buzzer, letting the delivery person into the building. Eventually they arrive, hand Callie five large pizza boxes, and a bag which no doubt contains soda of varying flavours. Callie in turn reaches into her pocket, pulls out her wallet, and pays the delivery person. She then asks if they want a selfie to which they excitedly agree, causing Marie to roll her eyes and laugh.

“What was all that about?” Eight asks, looking between Callie and Marie as Marie continues to chuckle and Callie blushes lightly.

“I uh… I just think they’re cute alright?” Callie looks away from the group of smirking cephalopods as she blushes.

“Relax Cals, no one here judges you for having a crush. God knows how hypocritical I’d be if I did that.” Three laughs causing Eight to chuckle and blush as well.

Callie just rolls her eyes and makes her way back into the living room, setting the boxes of pizza down on the coffee table, and the drinks next to it. Callie walks to the other side of the room where she pops open their DVD case and pulls out a handful of movies as everyone else grabs a slice of pizza for themselves.    
  
Marie, upon realizing there are no dishes in the living room, heads to the kitchen to grab some plates and cups. She returns quickly with a stack of paper plates and plastic cups, if this is a casual get together, it’s gonna be full casual. She frisbee tosses two plates at Three and Eight who catch them expertly. Their hand-eye having benefited from their time as agents. She sets the rest of the plates and cups down on the coffee table near the stack of pizza boxes, snagging a slice for herself and putting it onto her plate.

Callie soon rejoins the group, having put on a mindless action movie for them to ignore as the conversation flowed. She snags some pizza for herself and smiles at everyone as they all get settled for the evening. Their conversations start out with commentary about how unrealistic the action in a majority of the movie is. Three continually chimes in with ways the hero could’ve completed an action with far less effort and far more pizazz, earning a chuckle and a kiss from Eight. 

  
However their conversations did eventually drift back to the looming anniversary of Four’s passing. Three commented that while she knew it was going to be painful, she wanted to focus on the happy anniversary coming first, hers and Eight’s. Marie wishes she had the same kind of distraction, but she doesn’t say anything in the moment. She doesn’t want to take away from Three’s happiness, it’s not fair to her.   
  
Eventually, the pizza boxes run empty and the movie runs out of runtime. The group says their goodbyes, Three makes a special point to ensure that she gives Marie an extra long hug. She knows that while Marie may put up a stoic facade like she herself does, Marie is vulnerable and hurting. Three makes sure to flash Marie a sympathetic smile before waving goodbye.

\--

The day of Three and Eight’s anniversary comes, and it’s even more magical than Eight could’ve imagined. Three had cleaned up even more than she usually does for dates. She had on a navy strapless dress which went down to her knees, her tentacles were tied up behind her head in a ponytail, which Eight found absolutely adorable, and…  _ is that makeup? _ Eight can hardly believe it, Three actually is wearing makeup.    
  
Three thought Eight looked drop dead gorgeous. Eight was also wearing a dress, except hers had a single strap going over one of her shoulders, however it was a matching shade of navy. Eight’s dress also had a belt going around her waist with a cinch type buckle on the left hand side. 

The day had gone off exactly as Three had planned, Three even insisted on going with Eight to get a manicure, and Three had been quoted in the past stating that she would never get one herself. And yet here she was, getting one, so she could make sure Eight got one too. Three had a very specific reason for doing this and Eight knew it, but when pressed for why Three denied any ulterior motive.

Finally, the moment was upon them. Three had rehearsed this moment in her mind so many times up to this point. She was blushing profusely as the pair of them walked through the park, the sun setting over the horizon and reflecting off Inkopolis Lake. Three felt a lump in her throat that felt almost as big as the lump she’s hiding in her pocket. 

Eight notices that Three seems nervous about something, she can feel her hearts racing through her hand as it grips Eight’s own. Eight looks down at Three, flashing her a smile.   
  
“What’s up love? You seem tense.” Eight asks, still in awe at how stunning Three looks tonight. She thinks Three always looks stunning, but when she puts the effort in like she has now, it accentuates her already marvelous beauty.

“Eight… There’s something I need to ask you.” Three pauses, glancing towards the lake as the sun dips lower, bathing more of the world in darkness.

“Anything.” Eight smiles, her hearts flutter and a pang of nervousness creeps into her mind. She thinks she knows what question Three might ask, but she doesn’t want to get her hopes up too high.

Three clears her throat, reaches her hand into her pocket, and slowly pulls her hand out of Eights. Three looks up at Eight for a moment, blushing just as hard as she had when she first asked the Octoling on a date, before swallowing her pride and gaining the confidence she needs. 

“Kiaria Houzuki-Ida, the love of my lifetime…” Three pauses before kneeling down on one knee, causing Eight to cup her hands over her mouth in shock as Three pulls a small box out of her pocket, popping it open to reveal the most radiant ring Eight has ever seen just sitting inside the small box. “Will you marry me?”


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anniversary of Four's final match is upon them, and with no better way to honour her memory than to hold a match on the same stage, Judd approves for the stage to be re-opened for an honorary match to be held.

The days were closing in on the one year anniversary of the tragedy that took Four’s life. Inkopolis wanted to honour her memory properly, they knew how much the battles meant to her, and so collectively they agreed that on the exact one year date, they would hold a commemorative match on the same stage which saw Four’s final moments. But this meant a lot of work needed to be done.

Judd told the workers that unless they were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the new spawn point they were going to install wouldn’t fail, that the match would have to be held on a different stage. The spawnpoint technicians worked tirelessly to ensure that their new design wouldn’t have the same failure. 

Three had mixed feelings about the match. On one hand, she knows Four loved battles and spending time doing them, so it’s the perfect way to honour her. On the other hand, it’s a painful reminder of what happened. But Three knew she couldn’t dwell on Four for too long, she had her life to plan. But she still felt the need to personally check on the progress they were making. 

Three walks into the stage and makes her way over to where the spawnpoint was being constructed, the workers were on break at the moment so she wouldn’t be interrupting anything by taking a look around. She wasn’t going to touch anything, she just wanted to see it. 

Three walks by the control panel and looks over the settings on the screen. Looks like the battle was going to be held with the same ink colours as Four’s final match, as it’s set to purple. The spawnpoint itself wasn’t hooked up to power yet, but Three assumed that it would be soon. Three worked as a spawnpoint technician for a few months after Four was lost, she didn’t want anyone else to suffer the fate she did, so she knows how their diagnostic settings work. It’ll be hooked up near the end of the work day, and then it’ll have its diagnostics run through the night. Usually, if the spawnpoint is installed right, it’s powered on and ready to use around midnight.

The workers spot Three looking over the spawn point and give her a wave. She has more than enough clearance to be here so they’re not about to start something with her. Three simply waves back. She’s seen what she wanted to see, so she throws her baseball cap back on her head and starts making her way back to Inkopolis. Eight had promised to help keep Three’s mind off of Four for the night and Three hoped it meant bad movies with junk food and cuddles on the couch. Three smiles to herself at the thought of how she and her fiance were going to spend the evening, and disappeared back to Inkopolis.

The sun was beginning to set, which meant the work day was almost at a close. The technicians finish bolting in the new spawn point, making sure it’s stable and not going to move. After receiving a nod from the worker who bolted in the last rivet, the power is connected to the spawn point and it comes to life. They set it to diagnose and prime for use on the control pad, and start packing up their tools. They’d come back in the morning to make sure everything worked properly.

The clock ticks just past midnight, 12:04am, the screen of the spawn point flashes, the diagnostic is complete and everything is functioning as intended. The spawn point initiates and powers up for use, ready to be used for the match… Wait a second, why is the respawn system active? 

The spawn point steams as the spirit of a squid circles into the center. The ink in the middle rises as it reconstructs the form of the fallen inkling, merging their spirit back with the ink of the world. Slowly their form takes shape, their gear and weapon are rebuilt and finally their eyes shoot open. And now, standing in the middle of the spawn point… is a very confused looking Agent 4. 

Four doesn’t understand, why is it dark? She was in the middle of a match, she was making her push to X rank… why is there no one in the stands? Four holds her weapon out in front of her, slowly making her way through the stage, surely this has to be some kind of prank. Four rounds the corner and makes her way to the center of the stage, and when her eyes land on what lay there, they go wide as her pupils shrink. Her weapon clatters on the ground as she steps closer to the memorial in the center of the stage… the memorial for  _ her _ .

“No… please no…” Four feels the tears welling in her eyes, this can’t be happening, this isn’t fair! How did this even happen anyways? She was in a match, and she got splatted, and then she respawned and suddenly it was dark and the world thought she was dead?

Four turns and runs away from the memorial, this has to be some kind of prank, some kind of elaborate joke. Some kind of sick, twisted, elaborate ruse. She throws open the door to the locker room and finds the one she had reserved… there’s spiderwebs over the lock, great. Four quickly swats them away and puts in her code, the locker coming open revealing her few belongings that she left inside. She snags her phone and its charger, slamming the door shut. Just as she suspected, the battery’s run out. She quickly runs over to a spare outlet and plugs her phone in, tapping her foot impatiently as it boots up.

The screen comes to life and… no service, great. Okay that doesn’t matter, there’s a hotspot she can access. She never used it before because so many of the other battlers did so it was always bogged down, but she figured right now it would be safe to use it. She logs in to the network and her phone goes wild, missed notifications and alarms all going off at once. Four panics and quickly tries to silence all of them, nearly dropping her phone in the process. 

Finally she’s able to calm her phone down and figure out what the hell happened. The first thing she does is check the time. 12:18am. Okay that makes sense given how dark it is outside. Then she checks the date, praying it’s been less than a week. She opens her calendar, and looks at the day… wait it’s the same day as the match she was just in? Then she looks up to the year. Oh no, oh no no no.

“No… this can’t be…” Four flips to her messages, she tries texting Marie first.

\--

4gent A: Marie? What’s going on?

4gent A: Marie I’m scared

\--

No reply, perfect. Four knew she was awake, but maybe she just wasn’t by her phone? Or maybe she was writing new song lyrics, she does that sometimes. Okay new strategy, find out what happened… if it’s been a year, and there’s a memorial, then surely there’s got to be some kind of news report right? She opens up her web browser and goes to SNN (Squid News Network). Oh, they’ve changed their name to CNN (Cephalopod News Network). Fun. She’s prepared to scroll through hundreds of pages to find some miniscule report of what happened… only to find it on the front page.

“One year aniversary of Jay Narakai’s passing” The headline reads. There’s a video attached to it, looks like someone in the audience was recording the match on their phone. Four reluctantly taps play, she watches herself reclaim the tower, she watches the roller come swinging down onto her and causes her to explode into ink. Then, she sees why she didn’t respawn. She sees instantly that something was wrong with the spawn point, the electrical wires running to it were sparking, there was far too much power being pumped into it. She watches in horror as the spawn point violently sparks and steams before finally sending metal shrapnel flying as a fireball reaches skywords from the center of it.

Four covers her mouth in shock, but the video doesn’t end yet. She sees a squid flying through the air towards the now destroyed spawn pad, and when they land Four can see that it’s Marie, and her heart sinks. That was supposed to be a special day for the two of them, she had made dinner reservations and had a really cute dress picked out. She wanted to thank Marie for always being by her side, for being there for her when she needed her, and then this happens. Four had planned to make sure that, even if it was her accomplishment they were celebrating, that she made Marie feel like the inkling being pampered, because she deserved it. But instead… she’d left her lover without even giving her a chance to say goodbye.

Four falls to her knees and clutches her chest as lines of tears begin to find pathways down her face. She looks down at her phone again, seeing Marie kneeling by the spawn point that should’ve reunited them. Four is heartbroken, how could she have done this? How could she have left Marie to hurt? It wasn’t fair… 

“Oh shit… what about Alex?!” Four fumbles with her phone again, closing the webpage and once again opening her messages, she hopes Alex knows it’s actually her.

\--

4gent A: Alex? 

4gent A: Alex… I’m so sorry…

\--

There was a long pause, the message was read but there wasn’t even a typing bubble for ages. Four wasn’t sure what she expected from her cousin, it had apparently been a year. She figured Alex might get mad thinking someone had stolen her number and was playing a prank on her, but she hoped to dispel that by using her real name. Almost everyone only knew her as “Three”. This was her own choice, and fortunately it gave Four some plausibility to her survival.

\--

Agent 3: How did you get this number and how do you know my name?

4gent A: Alex… it’s me… I promise I’m not lying to you

Agent 3: My cousin died a year ago today, how fucking dare you mock her memory like this.

4gent A: Alex please… I promise you I’m actually alive… 

Agent 3: Stop. You’re making an enemy you do NOT want to have.

4gent A: Alex I… fine. You know what? Fine. 

\--

Four locks her phone and rubs the bridge of her nose between her fingers. She KNEW that wouldn’t go well, so why did she bother? She didn’t know. Probably something to do with desperation. Speaking of desperation… if it’s been a year then there’s no way her apartment was still, well, hers. Shit.

“Well, I’ve got no choice now… Marie’s place is closer than Alex’s…” Four unplugs her phone and starts making her way back to Inkopolis.

Four exits the battle lobby, it was always open because sometimes after a battle someone would fall asleep on one of the couches and just not wake up until an ungodly hour like this, so they leave the doors unlocked to allow people to leave. Four shields her eyes from the harsh light of the square as her pupils adjust to it. There were a handful of squids walking around the square, mostly just the night owls who couldn’t sleep and needed to get out of the house. Four doesn’t spend too much time wandering however, she’s on a mission.

Four calls her mission: “Operation make my loved ones realize I’m not dead.”

It’s a little on the nose but there’s no time for a cool nickname for it, she has to get things done. Four walks in the direction of Callie and Marie’s apartment, the walk becomes a fast walk, which shortly after turns into a jog, which within moments is a proper run, before finally becoming a full on sprint. Four remembers the way to Marie’s from the battle lobby very clearly, she’d walked it so many times with Marie that she could never forget the path.

Four turns sharply and finally comes up to the entrance of a rather well off apartment complex. It wasn’t anything super fancy or anything, but it was well kept and at least somewhat modern. Okay, there’s the keypad, and their room number, and oh god what is she going to say? Four sighs and just inputs the number into the keypad, the dial tone is heard and after a second, the unmistakable voice of Marie comes through the speaker.

“Hello? Who is this? It’s nearly one am.” Marie’s voice calls, it sounds irritated, like someone had woken her from a nap.   
  
“M-Marie… it’s me… it’s Jay…” Four feels a single tear leave her eye, Marie’s voice like music to her ears. She doesn’t hear her voice again but she does hear the unmistakable buzzing of the door unlocking. Four silently celebrates and pushes her way through the door and into the building.

Four finally makes her way up to their suite, her hearts racing and her breathing uneven, but she hopes to god that they’re not mad at her for what happened. With a shaking hand, she raises her fist and knocks on the door. She hears a rustling noise, it’s louder than the usual  _ scrambling to get to the door _ noises but she doesn’t think much of it. That is until the door swings open and now shoved right into her face is the end of a Dynamo roller.

Four instinctually backs away with her hands raised in front of her, not that they’d do much to block from the swing of a Dynamo. Her eyes trace back to its wielder, where she spots a very angry looking Callie. Four has never seen Callie like this, she could swear there was literal fire in her pupils. Callie’s enraged expression doesn’t last long however, as her eyes slowly widen, realizing that yes, the person standing at her door is, in fact, Four.

The roller clatters to the ground, followed by the sound of a charger doing the same. Marie was behind Callie, she’d been ready to fire had anything happened to Callie… But instead there was something she thought impossible standing on her doorstep.

“J-Jay?” Marie steps forwards, her eyes watering as her trembling hands reach upwards towards Four’s face. “Jay is that… really you?”   
  
Four smiles through the tears now forming in her own eyes, she nods and holds her arms out towards Marie. Even though it hadn’t been longer than a few moments for Four, she still missed Marie so much. She can’t even begin to fathom how much despair Marie must’ve felt over the last year without her. She’d have to find some way to make it up to her.

“Yes… It’s me… I’m so, so sorry…” Four sniffles as Marie closes the distance and pulls her into a hug. Four quickly wraps her arms around Marie in return and the two of them cry into the others shoulder. 

The pair dared not separate, Marie refused to let go of Four for any reason. Marie could hardly believe it… Her love had come back to her. Four was crying harder than she expected. She never knew just how much Marie meant to her, and seeing her so distraught just confirmed to her how much love they truly held for each other. Maybe this was why Marie could never truly move on, why she always felt a pang of guilt any time she gave a passing glance to an inkling she found attractive. Because deep down she knew that somehow, some way, Four would come home to her one day; she knew it in her hearts. Marie and Four both silently promised to themselves that they were going to treasure this gift, they weren’t going to lose their lover again.

**Author's Note:**

> Want more Angst? Want more pain? Come join the Splangst server where we share our collective love of misery! (Warning, server contains NSFW content, join at your own peril) - https://discord.gg/yXnMaFe


End file.
